Tennessee State Rep. Andy Holt (R-Dresden) is the first elected official in the United States that I have been made aware of who has publicly supported the Bundy family and a group of domestic terrorists who have taken over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon. In fact, Holt went as far as to take to Twitter and publicly ask for information about where he could send an unspecified amount and type of support to the Bundy militia (screengrab by Chattanooga City Council member Chris Anderson, Holt deleted the tweet from his account):

As you can clearly see, Anderson flatly called for a federal investigation into possible treason by Holt. Treason is the only crime that is defined in the U.S. Constitution (Article III, Section 3):

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

(emphasis mine)

Both types of treason (levying war against the U.S. and aiding the enemy) either do or may apply in this scenario, the former to the Bundy militia, and the latter to Holt. According to local law enforcement in Oregon who have knowledge of the ongoing siege, the Bundy militia has intentions of attempting an overthrow of the U.S. government and the government of Harney County, Oregon, so that is clearly plotting an act of treason. By intending to send “support” to the Bundy militia, Holt is at least plotting to aid the Bundy militia, unless his remarks are pure hyperbole. If Holt’s remarks are more than hyperbole (i.e., sending support to the Bundy militia or actually plotting to do so), then he’s committing treason.

However, some of Holt’s other tweets are clearly not hyperbole, and give you a general idea of how much of a vile, disgusting human being that he is. Darrell Bouldin, a 2012 Democratic National Convention (DNC) delegate from Tennessee, compiled a few of Holt’s homophobic remarks towards Anderson, who is openly gay:

Andy Holt is even more vile and disgusting than Donald Trump, and I didn’t even think that was possible until now. Please use the hashtag #UNFITFORTN when tweeting about how much of a disgusting human being Holt is.

Ammon Bundy, the son of far-right anti-government crackpot Cliven Bundy, two of Ammon’s brothers, and far-right militiamen have taken over the administration building of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon.

As of 9:30 P.M. PST/11:30 P.M. CST, CNN.com, CNN’s website, has reported absolutely nothing about the right-wing militia taking over the Malheur NWR headquarters. There’s nothing on the front page about the takeover, and there’s nothing on the U.S. page about the takeover. In fact, the Wikipedia page on Malheur NWRwas edited at 1:57 A.M. GMT/5:57 P.M. PST/7:57 CST to include a one-sentence reference to the Bundy/militia takeover.

This story is clearly of national importance, because right-wing terrorists and members of the Bundy family of right-wing extremists have responded to the legitimate conviction of two Oregon ranchers who set fire to federal land set aside for the protection of wildlife, not for ranching, by an armed takeover of the Malheur NWR headquarters.

Furthermore, some corporate media outlets are trying to claim that the Bundy/militia occupiers are non-violent protesters, when, in fact, Ammon Bundy has openly called for militia members to join the occupation and bring weapons with them. This is clearly not a non-violent protest, although I’ve heard no reports of shots fired or any other acts of violence at this time.

CNN has become an absolute joke of a news organization, and most other corporate media outlets are not much better.